Judge unpacks Superior Court for Salem students

“It’s a wonderful profession, but it requires a lot of work and meticulous preparation.”

That is, in part, what Marblehead's Thomas Drechsler told Salem Academy Charter School students of his job as a sitting associate judge of Massachusetts Superior Court Monday afternoon.

His visit to social studies teacher Kim Stanhouse’s class was part of the first-of-its-kind National Judicial Outreach Week. The week-long program, sponsored by the American Bar Association, has Superior and District court judges educating the community about the rule of law, the Massachusetts Trial Court and the work done there day in and day out.

Drechsler gave the skinny version of the state’s judicial court, but he honed his hour-long speech talking about the Superior Court. Drechsler was widely considered a consummate trial defense lawyer before he began his new job as an associate justice sitting on the court two years ago.

He was appointed by Gov. Deval Patrick and unanimously confirmed by the Governor’s Council to Salem Superior Court in 2014. He is one of 82 Superior Court justices who preside over high-profile criminal and civil action in 20 courthouses across the Bay State’s 20 counties.

“In Superior Court, hundreds of cases are on file that have to be resolved,” he said. “The most serious cases are adjudicated here.”

Civil suits with more than $25,000 on the line, homicide, conspiracy, and sexual assaults are among the cases that find their way to the Superior Court docket.

He said being a judge is a noble profession, one that’s rewarding and challenging.

“There is a lot of sadness in courts, but there are also a lot of success stories, too,” he told students. “Trying cases is a high pressure and extremely difficult, it takes a lot out of you, and that’s why I try to get files as quickly as possible.”

Subjectivity is not welcome in the courtroom, Drechsler sternly told students in response to a question about bias in cases being tried.

“We try very, very hard to keep bias out of the courtroom,” said Drechsler.

A transparent, fair jury selection helps weed out jurors who my have a bias or life experiences that may disqualify them for impaneling, he said. Divulging submitted evidence by both parties’ attorneys also ensures a fair trial, said Drechsler.

“The days of trial by ambush are over,” he said.

Judges must also remove themselves from potential bias, sacrifices that come with a job that requires the utmost objectivity and fairness.

“You can’t engage in any political activities. I can’t put a political sign in my yard,” he said, adding that he even had to give up his membership to civic organizations as well as dissolve his private law practice. “You pretty much devote yourself and life to your profession.”

In civil cases, Superior Court judges encourage parties to mediate, but when they don’t, “We go to trial,” he said.

Drechsler said they also urge defendants to always have attorneys represent them in court. He recited an axiom shared in courtrooms: “A person who represents himself or herself has a fool for a lawyer.”

He pointed to sentencing and determining whether someone’s a public danger to society and should be detained as the most difficult aspect of his job, he said.

“I find these decisions to be the hardest because you’re depriving someone of their liberty,” he said.

Yet, he added, the sentencing, in part, serves a purpose.

“We are deterring people from performing crimes by punishing people,” he said. “We’re protecting society.”